6 Chapter 6

The mountain of skulls in my cave had swelled until it reached the ceiling. I reached out leisurely and selected a vertebrae from the crest of the pile to snack on.

A few weeks had passed since I exterminated the nest of Nekkers.

During this time I had integrated their corrosive blood and poison into my body. As I was only editing a small section of my DNA rather than rewriting it entirely, the process had only taken a few minutes.

The immense toxicity lurking in my blood had given me an unexpected surprise after being integrated.

The colour of my carapace had changed to a sickly grey.

Nekker DNA was chaotic and unstable in itself. I thought it highly probable that without the unknown factors adhered to their genetic sequence, likely linked to the magic they had brought with them for their homeworks, their bodies would simply collapse a few hours after their birth.

These unknown factors were being constantly analysed by the red energy, but with such a limited sample size, the analysis had yielded limited results.

I theorised that the colour change of my carapace was a result of the unknown factors. While the change was harmless, I was wary of something unknown altering my genome.

Prior to this change the red energy had been able to perfectly map out and manipulate the direction of my evolution.

Obtaining more genetic material from other magical beings was my current top priority. The red energy also expressed a hunger for new information.

The magic of the Witcher world was a force that had never, nor could it ever, be truly tamed. Sorcerers could harness it's power to achieve incredible feats but it could just as easily corrupt their minds and consume their souls.

"I have eaten everything the forest has to offer." I thought aloud.

Each day I expanded the radius of my exploration, through this process I had discovered several matters of importance.

In the east there was a strange and ancient smell of decay. My instincts warned me that there existed something deep in that direction that could cause me fatal harm.

Upon approaching closer torwards the source of the smell, signs of fear began uncontrollably manifesting themselves in my body.

Shaking, blurred vision; things that should not be able to affect me.

The red energy could effectively dispel these symptoms from my body, but the consumption was high and it was clear that the east was not a place I was ready to explore.

At least not yet.

To the north lay endless miles of untouched forest, I had contemplated travelling in this direction for I was certain that I would encounter new species of monster to devour.

However there was an urgency in my heart to confirm the kingdom I was in.

The soldiers of Nilfgard were cruel and ruthless, I did not doubt that they would hunt me down if I happened to stand in the way of their conquest. Worse still if a sorcerer were to take a fancy to a never before seen monster.

It was one thing to conceal myself from the search of a single spellcaster. It was another thing to hide from an entire army and their sorcerers that were under the control of something so unknown as the white flame.

To the south lay a wide and raging river. It's waters were so strong that I feared to go near in case I were to be drawn in.

Nature was powerful but so was I. Without the influence of magic no river could flow with such ceaseless fury.

It was dawning on me quickly that my understanding of the Witcher universe was limited to an infinitesimally small fraction of the truth.

The south was controlled by another powerful destructive force.

Humans.

Evidence of their activity could be seen sprawling across the southern lands.

'I must go South. Knowledge is power and currently I have far too little.'

I stood up and resolved myself to my decision.

My heavily armoured head scraped against the ceiling and produced a shrill scratching noise.

The red energy's continuous perfection of my body meant my growth was never ending. Each time I awoke from sleep I seemed to have gained a few millimetres in height.

My neck had also extended by several centimeters and my face had taken on a distinct angular shape.

Although I had never tasted a mantis's flesh, the red energy relied on deducing the appearance pictured in my memories to adjust my features to ones I deemed more appealing.

My figure had become increasingly more streamlined and less bulky, allowing me to cut through the air almost silently.

I often sat and admired my reflection in shallow pools.

Any fish that choose to foolishly disrupt my reflection with their swimming were swiftly killed.

In the weeks following the extermination of the first group of Nekkers, I had discovered anr slaughtered several more nests.

Although they could not provide me new genetic material, the subsequent nests did cause my reserves of energy to reach new heights.

The energy was sufficient to complete a second evolution, but I chose to wait until I had gathered new kinds of DNA.

Restructuring my body with the genetic material available currently at my disposal was a pointless endeavour.

I had used some energy to complete a transformation of my muscle cells and transform my broad body into a far more slender one. This had resulted in a sharp increase in speed and a modest decrease in strength.

Moving at high speeds was exhilarating and allowed me to change to a far more fast paced style of combat.

Although my movement did not necessarily have the same overwhelming momentum, my sharp claws and lighting like speed allowed me to cut through just about anything with deadly precision.

This method of combat was far better suited to my insectoid form and allowed me to exert greater damage.

It was said that ultimate speed could defeat all else.

I agreed with the saying.

Although I still lacked the confidence to defeat a properly equipped Witcher, I held firm belief in my ability to retreat safely.

The biological differences between my heavily armoured form and a human, even a mutated one, were simply insurmountable without the use of magic or alchemy.

I once again delighted at my decision to evolve a carapace.

"I must go South."

I turned my head to a 180° angle and stared hungrily in that direction. The countless rows of jagged teeth in my mouth undulated as I shivered with anticipation for my next meal.

Killing the innocent did not align with my morals and I would not kill those who displayed no aggression to me.

Everything else was simply a dish waiting to enter my stomach.

I stepped forwards and looked back at my mountain of bones.

I had long since marked this location in my mind and intended to return and explore the scent of decay when my strength had increased.

My first feeding ground held a special value to me. I did not wish for it to be disturbed in my absence.

Therefore I considered it necessary to conceal my nest.

Tilting my compound eyes to the ceiling I bent my knees and curled my fist.

In an instant energy was transferred from my waist and legs to my arm and my fist became a grey blur hurtling upwards.

The ceiling of the cave was made of thick stone but it was unable to withstand the huge force of impact and cracks swiftly began spreading through the rock.

I bent my legs and easily jumped several meters in a single bound.

The cave's entrance crumbled to the floor behind me, sealing my legacy away to await my return.

I felt a faint force calling for me in the South. The red energy labelled this force to be something it called....

Destiny.